Make Do and Hope

I invite you to join me for a knit-along of this pattern on Instagram and in my Ravelry group through the month of April 2020. Share on Instagram with the hashtag #makedoandhopecowlkal and tag me @arbortwist, or post in the thread in my group. At the start of May 2020, I will randomly select one FO from Instagram and one FO from the Ravelry thread to each receive a $25 gift card to the LYS or other small business of your choice. More info here in the Ravelry thread. Stay home, stay safe, and stay well!

With longer shipping times and not being able to go to my favorite brick and mortar stores, I’ve been in the mindset to make do with what I have as much as possible. I think that’s why, during this period of self isolation, I have been reaching for leftovers in my stash much more often than new skeins, which is how this pattern came about.

This pattern contains instructions to knit the two cowl variations pictured here. I wrote this pattern to use single skeins and small amounts of DK-to-worsted weight yarn and found it so addicting that I knit two cowls in four days. You can also hold fingering weight yarns double to achieve gauge, opening up possibilities for creating fades or fun pops of color. The pops of contrast color feel like, to me, little pops of hope that the world will come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger and more unified than ever.